Fury of Shadow is part of the Midnight line, a campaign setting detailing a war-torn land where evil has won, and the dark god Izrador reigns supreme. The forces of Izrador have crushed the land of man, where pockets of resistance still exist, and are now waging war on two main fronts: the Kaladrun Mountains to the east, home of the dwarves; and the great forest of Erethor that occupies nearly half of the western side of the continent, home to the elves.

Erethor and the elves is the focus of Fury of Shadow.

The box contains the following: a big map of Eredane, character sheets, DM screen, map booklet, and 160 pages soft cover campaign book (the meat of the box).

The map is a very high-quality image which you can zoom in to with very little distortion (to a point) and I can just imagine cropping small areas of the map, pass it trough some image manipulation tool (photoshop, paint.net, etc.) and hand them over to my PCs as prize.

The character sheet is just like the standard D&D character sheet but with a Midnight logo on top and a place to write your character’s Heroic Path, the magic area still has ‘Spells per day’ boxes where Midnight uses spell points, and Knowledge (planes) and Knowledge (religion) which are removed from Midnight are still there. And the DM screen, while it has nice paintings on it, has the usual information one would expect on a DM screen such as AC modifiers, actions, movement, and even a Turn Undead table, something not available normally to PCs; and a very small amount of stuff significant for a Midnight game: languages available, time to learn new spells, and the Sahi calendar. All these three things could have been much better.

The most important part of the box is of course the campaign book. This book is a must for any DM who plans to run a campaign in Erethor, or who just wants to expand his/her knowledge of the elves and what they are facing. The file comes with bookmarks to head of chapters.

I’ll break down the chapters for you:

Chapters 1 to 3 describe the various regions of the elven forest Erethor that are directly affected by the war with the Shadow (Izrador): the Caraheen (central), Veradeen (north) and the Arrun jungle and Druid’s Swamp (south). The Caraheen receive the most attention with a page count that almost equals both the south and northern area, which is a shame. The relatively quite coastal area of western Erethor, the Miraleen, does not receives it’s own chapter, and while it get several other mentions in other areas of the books, I think that some more information on this area of Erendane would have been welcomed. Even though, all three chapters a choke full of great locations and interesting personalities with enough quirks and twists that a cunning DM could have his players constantly on edge and asking themselves whether they should truly trust that elf. that particular person (and in my opinion, one of the most important parts of a Midnight campaign)

Chapter 4 goes into a little more detail about the various elven societies (all four), their strength and how they fight the Shadow, what could happen should the Shadow succeed in corrupting or defeating some of them, as well as some adventure hooks. The chapter also provides on some other groups that help/hinder the elves in their fight such as the Cult of the Witch, Roland’s Raiders, and the Pirate Princes.

Chapter 5 provides an excellent recounting of the war on Erethor for the past 99 years, an Arc by Arc (months in Midnight) description of the Shadows “final” and greatest offensive against the elves, and some of the Witch Queen plans to counter such an offensive. It is important to know, and the authors keep reminding us, that this chapter is a possibility of things to happen to provide adventure seed andor a backdrop to the party’s adventure in the elven forest.

Chapter 6 describes the Shadow’s forces besieging Erethor, the location and difficulties these forces have, their plans of conquest, the personalities and ambitions of the various captains (with all the conflicts between them), giving us a better understanding of how they might react; and as well as the elven forces and how they try to counter the Shadow’s minions. This is another excellent part of the book with plenty of ideas.

Chapter 7 provides general adventure ideas in Erethor for both good or evil parties, and three short encounters taking advantage of the various areas described in the book. Chapter 8 gives us the new monsters and several important NPCs complete with their personalities and quirks. Chapter 9 is the shortest and gives us a handful of feats and one Prestige Class, the Erunsil Blood.

The book on the whole is very well written. Short stories (several paragraphs at most) dot the chapters and give readers a more in-depth look at what the elves and orcs fighting in this warfront feel. You cannot read a page of this book without an adventures idea, if not a whole campaign, jumping out at you (in fact, I recommend reading this book with a notebook and pen on the side. Just in case).

There are no meta-plots in this book. The authors keep reminding the reader that everything written down are suggestions and ideas, a possibility of things to come, nothing more. They leave enough gray area for the DM to run around in and fit and mold into his/her own campaign.

The book in black and white (as all Midnight books are) and I like this because I believe it very fitting for this dark setting. While I do not like the cover art of the book, I do like the interior art. The map booklet is also black and white, and I have no problem with that either; I do not think it detracts from them, and still believe they are very good.

For people not playing Midnight, Fury of Shadow offers little. There are several mechanics strewn throughout the book for forest travel with haunted trees, braving rapids, dealing with thin ice, and more, but there are plenty of books out there offering such mechanics. Fury was made for Midnight and fits into the setting perfectly.

I bought the original box set when it was firs published (The original box set cost $50, and I do think it was a little too much for what the box offered. I’m sure a little shopping around will produce a better price. ); Read it and loved it; and over the next several years flipped through it from time to time. Recently, I have re-read the book and have fallen in love with it again.

With this new offer of Midnight PDFs and only a $7 tag price, this should be a no brainer. If you are a Midnight DM and plan to run an Erethor campaign, then this is it.

In the Midnight campaign setting, the Sarcosan people are considered to be the most influential of human cultures. They were the last race to come to Eredane and brought with them refined steel, astrology, horses, and more. They united the humans of the continent. And yet, it was from their culture and courts, rife with intrigue as it was, that was the most fertile of grounds for the Shadow to sow his seeds of dissent. Star and Shadow is a sourcebook about these people and their lands.

As most other Midnight supplements, Star and Shadow is a 64-page, black and white, soft-cover. The front cover of the book is a beautiful full color drawing of a Sarcosan man astride his horse, the full moon is barely visible through a cloud of smoke with some strange creatures flying over head. Is he an insurgent or one of the many mercenaries? You can’t be sure, as he is well equipped and has some well equipped fellows behind him. And that, for me, is really capturing the feel of the Sarcosans as they are described in the Midnight setting: cunning before brawn. The interior art is good, even though I did not like some of the drawings and one of the drawings was used twice. On the maps that dot the book I’ll comment later.

The book has five chapters which I will discuss bellow:

Chapter 1 tells the history of the Sarcosans from the time they sent their first expedition to Eredane at the start of the Second Age to the betrayals that heralded the end of the Third Age. Wars and peace (but mostly wars) are described here, along with the relationship between the Sarcosans and the various races of Eredane, and suspicions by some people of where the Shadow’s hand might have stirred the Sarcosans in the “right” direction. Reading through this short history of the Sarcosans, the reader may gain a better understand of the Sarcosans as a culture and what drives them, even before delving into the next chapter.

It is a pity that the maps are ugly. Three maps are spread throughout this chapter detailing the colonization, the war with the elves, and the war with the Dorns. These are basically a blown-up image of the map from the Midnight 2nd edition book on which arrows and movements were drown along with dates and icons depicting a battle, a siege, a sacking, or something to that account. Perhaps also it is a problem of the book being black and white and me having a PDF copy (which I printed in very high quality at the printing shop), but I can’t say that I cared much for these maps.

Chapter 2 describes the way of life of the Sarcosans. The caste system is discussed in much more detail than before, and it is shown how this system holds these people together for better or worse; their intrigue-culture is discussed, a culture that applaud the clever above the strong; their attitude towards religion, their own and that Izrador, and the various crafts and trades they deal in. All this is discussed in detail and, along with the first chapter, provides a very comprehensive and interesting picture of the Sarcosans and their ways. A DM wishing to provide some information to a player playing a Sarcosan character will have to carefully go through the words before showing them to the player, as many paragraphs have information about what the Shadow’s forces or the insurgents are thinking or planning to do.

Chapter 3 is a gazetteer. The south was divided by the Shadow’s forces into seven districts, and each is discussed here in the following manned: a general description of the district with the name of the ruler (or rulers), a break up of the native population, the number of Shadow minions, and major trade products; then a number of important towns and villages are discussed shortly, and lastly a number of geographical features of interest. Each entry of settlement or location has a short “Hook” paragraph following it; this might be a tradition of the place, or perhaps the Shadow’s plan. Some are better than others, and while not all will provide adventure ideas, all enrich their particular area, making it much more interesting.

There are four hand-drawn maps spread throughout this chapter that are very nice and clean looking. Two of the maps depict a single district each, while the two other maps show multiple districts and are a bit overlapping. This overlapping is not done well as some of the borders in one map are not in the same place in the second map and this movement makes some of the cities and geographical features move from one district to another. A bit confusing when one is searching for a particular place and its description.

Chapter 4 is dedicated to some of the characters, potential allies or nemeses, already described throughout the book, giving detailed stats and possessions along with personalities and motivations. It is a shame that a small number of the descriptive texts about a few of the characters are just repetitions from earlier in the book.

Chapter 5 is the new rules chapter for this book. A handful of feats are provided including a three feat tree improving about finesse fighters. I only really did not like one of the feats which supposedly is needed whenever a Sarcosan character wishes to improve his rank in that Sarcosan caste with DM approval, of course. Things like that seem to me to try and take away narrative tools from the DM and make them into rules. I know I will not use it.

The Sarcosans are known for their excellent horses, and this is provided with the Sarcosan-bred template for horses (making them faster and more agile), a list of special “quirk” each horse has and new tricks that are special designed for Sarcosan horses, but are not exclusive to them. These mechanics are simple and nice, and when playing in a campaign in the south where each character might have a horse, can provide a greater attachment between horse and character.

Another new mechanic is provided in the background classes. These are one level classes that are taken at 1st level and may provide players a way to create a more rounded character. So for example a fighter that studied under a Sahi might be able to cast augury once per day after consulting the stars, and add a +2 sacred bonus to a roll due to his strong faith. Very nice, and something I would like to see implemented in future products as well.

Finally we are presented with three new Prestige Classes: Pellurian Blade Dancer (a dexterous and lethal falchion or greatsword wielding fighter), the Sahi (the priest/astrologer of the Sarcosan), and the Vigilant Defender (an urban-based vigilante class). Since I’m not very good at determining balance issues and such, I do not have much to say about these classes except that they are cool.

Star and Shadow is a good addition to the Midnight line. It does well in expanding about the Sarcosan life and culture, but I wish it would have done more in expanding the gazetteer with more places of interest and hooks; I wouldn’t have minded not having the chapter with the NPCs to clear more space for that.

As with most Midnight supplements, this one too will not see much use by people not playing in the Midnight setting, but for the Midnight DMs out there running their party in southern Eredane and the Sarcosan lands, this book might be very helpful and interesting to read. Of course, it will be an interesting read to any Midnight fan.

Ever since the box set Fury of Shadow, detailing the forest of the elves of Erethor in the Midnight campaign setting, the fans of Midnight have fantasized about a similar product that would focus on the dwarves of the Kaladruns. This did not come, but a product about the dwarves was produced: Hammer and Shadow.

Hammer and Shadow is the 14th in the line of supplement for the Midnight line detailing the continent of Eredane after its conquest by the dark god Izrador. Following the same pattern as other Midnight supplements, Hammer is a 64-page, black and white soft-cover.

The cover art is, as usual, in full color depicting a single hammer wielding dwarf surrounded by dead orcs at the entrance to what appears to be a dwarven-hold. While the drawing is moody enough and fitting to the whole Midnight feel, the dwarf to me seems a bit… unnatural. Sure, dwarves are supposed to be short and heavily muscled but this one seems to be taken to the extreme with huge arms and hands. Perhaps he got some spell on him, I don’t know.

The interior art is great, depicting both the dwarves and their enemies in equal measure. The regional maps, on the other hand, are bad; even bearing in mind that this review is of a PDF version of the product, the maps still are worse than other I’ve seen in PDF products. These maps appear to be just blown-up images from the main Midnight map that appeared in the Midnight 2nd edition book; hence they are fuzzy and appear out of focus, with only the symbols for the different villages, forts, ruins, etc. along with their names appearing sharp because they were plainly added on top of the original map. I believe FFG could have invested a bit more and drawn better, more detailed, maps for this product.

The book is divided into six chapters, but really has three main parts: the dwarves and their history, the current situation in the Kaladruns, and new rules.

Chapter 1 goes into great detail to describe the dwarven way of life. Everything from how they act within their own clans and other clans, to how they treat other races and the half breeds among them. Their language, government, beliefs and gender relations are all treated here, as well as a better understanding of the difference between Kurgan and Clan dwarves. Major dwarven and non-dwarven settlement are also described and given a short history. I think this chapter is great, and while not all information in it should be available to the players, a DM should consider giving any dwarf player a large part of this information so as to give the player a better understanding of the dwarven culture. And of course, for any NPC the DM is running.

Chapter 2 is all about dwarven history... war history at any rate. The dwarves have been fighting amongst themselves and with the orcs for almost 10,000 years after all. The chapter goes through the Ages of Eredane, and after each Age a defining battle in the dwaren history is shortly described whether it went well or not for the dwarves. The chapter is interesting enough, showing us how the dwarves came to be as they are in this Last Age of Eredane, after thousands of years of constant warfare.

Chapters 3 to 5 each focus on a different area of the Kaladruns Mountains going progressively from the north, to the central Kaladruns, and finally to the southern Kaladruns. These chapters describe nicely and in detail the history of the war in the area along with the plans ahead with each chapter further divided to focus on the Shadow’s forces, their tactics, important personas, and locations, and with the same treatment given to the dwarves later. It might have been a matter of space, but I liked the fact that of the many possible NPCs detailed in this chapter, no space was wasted on their stats, and hence more space was used to portray the land and forces, instead each NPC mentioned had in parenthesis race, class, and level. Only the dragon Arynix, one of the Shadows’ best weapon in the area, was detailed and stated and that is due to the simple fact that dragons in Midnight are treated differently (their abilities have no connection to their color).

Chapter 6 is all about new rules specifically made for the dwarves and fighting in the Kaladruns. The complementary handful of feats along with two new Prestige Classes (the Ancestral Foe, self explanatory, which can be taken by either orcs of dwarves; and the Dwarven Loremaster, the dwarven channeler with the ability to etch powerful rune magic).

Also we are presented with Dwarvencraft Techniques which can be learned with an appropriate feat, a teacher, and the investment of some time and a few XP points. These techniques serves to show the excellence of the dwarven smiths; making weapons, armors, or items, more durable, sharper, better wielding, lighter, and more, without resorting to magecraft and enchantment, something the dwarves are no entirely trusting of. I’m not sure how much benefit a PC will garner from these techniques, but a DM could certainly use these guidelines to gift his PCs with good, non-magical, dwarven made weapons.

Tunnel Craft is a nice section describing innovative ideas the dwarves have come up with to better communicate and move around in their tunnels. Some optional rules are recommended to make fighting in the close-quarters in the belly of the Kaladruns more interesting, such as the possibility that a weapon would shatter on the walls after a natural 1 on an attack roll, or the best weapons to be used while fighting in cramped spaces.

Finally the Appendix takes a chapter out of the Fury of Shadow box set and gives an arc by arc account of the great and final attack (at least that is what the Shadow’s minions hope) on the dwarves. It is written short and to the point describing the two main fronts, central and southern Kaladruns, and gives the reader both a feeling of despair and a glimmer of hope.

The focus of this book is clearly on the war being constantly fought on, and bellow, the Kaladruns, with every persona and location described in terms of what he, she or it has to offer to the war effort. What was missing for me from this book were places that might exist simply because they are there, or local legends and tales that might or might not be true but could certainly have an impact on the world of Midnight. These things, and others like them, are usually used to better flesh out the area described in the Midnight supplements; and while Hammer and Shadow is well written and interesting, these “branching out” of the main story of struggle that is Midnight were distinctly missing (for me) here. Other people, of course, might feel differently.

Like I said, this is a good book, and if you are a Midnight DM and are running a campaign in the area of the Kaladruns, or just want better knowledge of the dwarven culture, this is a good purchase. For those not playing in the dark and excellent world of Midnight, you would probably not miss out on much.

This supplement to the Midnight campaign setting turns our attention to the place were all the suffering of Eredane comes from; the place where the Shadow’s essence is strongest, where resistance is nonexistent, and where odrendor, the chosen of Izrador, the orcs, come from: the land beyond the Fortress Wall.

As most Midnight supplement, this one too is a 64-page, black and white soft-cover. The full-color front cover depicts a cavalry of orcs on large evil looking boars going through the desolate northlands, giving one hints as to what is inside, as well as telling us upfront: this is orc-land. Enter at your own risk! The interior art is, as usual in the Midnight products, excellent with its dark themes and showing us equal measures of those living in this land, vistas of the land itself, and of course, the hardship that it is to live in this inhospitable land.

The book has four chapters:

Chapter 1 describes the Marchlands, the area immediately north of the Fortress Wall and the land where the Dornish houses once ruled, and the Marchland itself is divided into four different areas from west to east. These areas are excellently described with vivid language, usually telling us how the place was before it was corrupted by the shadow, how it was corrupted, and how it stand today; along with these descriptions, particular areas and special characters, along with dangers that one might encounter while traveling through the northland, are given. From the horrors of Udasha’s Grove in the Withered Woods, to the first and greatest orc warren of them all Gasterfang where the orcs promised their souls to Izrador, to the Eye of the Shadow where the oldest Mirror of them all is and a thousands of years old legate experiments with souls far away from the eyes of the fractured and intrigue-ridden Order of the Shadow.

This chapter also describes how several tribes have migrated south during this last age, moving to greener pasture, and tells us of the great hostilities between some of the greater tribes, each one with its own allies, and how this might easily grow into a civil war. Another hostility that is described, just bellow the surface and just as dangerous, is the one between the Kurasatch udareen, Izrador’s mother-wives, the priestesses and leaders of the orcs, and the legates of the Order. Both sides resent each others power, but none dare act on that resentment… yet.

Lastly are described those who do not follow the Shadow: a lone warrior that hunts the orc; a clan of Dorns known as the Pale Dorns who several thousands of years ago decided to hide right under the Shadow’s nose; and an old orc who says that something about how all this was is being waged stinks.

Chapter 2 goes deeper into the north from the Weal, through the Vale of Tears and then plummets into the Scar, the place where Izrador’s crushed body fractures the earth. This chapter is as descriptive and interesting as the first chapter, full of the dangers of traveling, and living, in this hostile land; from the Rime Witches of the Spire of Black Ice (shown on the cover), to the Pit of the Cold Mother and her growing army of ice-cold undead. Once the Scar is reached, the presence of the dark god is all around, and this fractured and corrupt land is portrayed very vividly, with both physical dangers of enemies and mad spirits, as well as mental difficulties that one should expect from nearing the grave of a Dark God. A description is given o n how to reach deep into the Tomb of God Flesh through the Black Chantry, the Lichgate, and other difficulties; but such an accomplishment is of such epic proportions that it is not really expect to happen, and it is (as usually in Midnight products) left up to the DM to decided how the players, if at all, the can affect anything about this ultimate enemy.

Chapter 3 is all about the denizens that have been mentioned and described throughout the past two chapters. Five new creatures, four new templates (such as Cold Ones, and the Ghulam, slaves of the Zordrafin Corith), and three major NPCs are described and stated here. And as for the NPCs, some more of their story is revealed here.

Chapter 4 has a new Prestige Class, the orc priestesses, the Kurasatch Udareen, which is very nice and, of course, fitting to the setting even though it would probably come to play only by the DM with NPCs, the fact that several new spells that were apparently written for this PrC are missing doesn’t help much. The second part of this chapter is the Taint rules which are very deadly, for you are damned if you get them (and continue getting more and more) and damned if you loose them, and by damned I mean: you get killed. This dark theme that Taint will kill you either way, might be very fitting to the dark setting of Midnight, but is very punishing and might be too much. All creatures suffer from taint, and some might even have to apply one of the new templates presented in chapter 3, but of special note are the channelers. They have special rules, and gain a taint pool of spell energy that may be used in conjunction with their normal Spell Energy pool and has the special ability to not cost more while casting in the area of a Mirror. Catch is, every time a tainted spell energy is used, the channeler must succeed at a Will save or gain more taint. Tainted Channeler also might start getting special abilities (“good” things) and conditions (bad things) that mark them as tainted, and this coupled with the tainted spell energy pool they gain might make channelers who embrace the taint very powerful being… at a high cost, of course.

Throughout the book there are numerous “letters” that were supposedly sent by a junior legate to his master. These letters inform what the legate has learned about the various orc tribes in the region, their numbers, allies and enemies, and other facts that add life to these tribes, as well as giving us glimpses into the personality of this Brother Corlian who supposedly wrote these letters. These are very well written, and one of my favorite parts of this book.

In conclusion, this is a very good book. It is very well written and interesting, and gives DMs enough information to run their party through this harsh land, or, for those so inclined, to run an evil campaign comprised of orcs, legates, or any other minion of the Shadow.

For those not running Midnight unless you might want to look at the new creatures and rules, and lets face it there are plenty of books out there offering much more monsters and rules, there is not much here to find. This product is for Midnight DMs who want to expand their knowledge of this area of Eredane, the Heart of the misery of the land. You will not be disappointed.

Comment on PDF: When I bought this PDF back when it was released it had not front or back cover. I do not know if this is still the case. But even without the cover this is still a good product.

Under the Shadow is another supplement for the excellent dark fantasy setting Midnight (by FFG), where the Dark God Izrador, the only God on the world, has finally managed to conquer most of the known lands with his forces and slowly crushes every last bit of resistance out of those people who survived. Still, there are those who resist, and Resistance, just as Evil, has many faces. Under the Shadow takes a close look at one of the resistance hot spot, the city of Baden’s Bluff.

The cover art gives us a good glimpse into what is happening in Baden’s Bluff: the resistance is there following every move, and the forces of the Shadow, knowing that the resistance is there, moves carefully and usually in force. The interior art is just as good: dark and somber while giving you a good idea of what the city is like and how the various forces in play interact with it and one another.

The book has four chapters:

Chapter 1 describes in detail the different areas of the city providing a map for each area. Most maps do not have more than three areas or buildings signaled out, but those that are, are very detailed with a look into their history as well as the mandatory current information of its importance. Some even have maps of the buildings added to them. A great deal of detail is also given to the description of each area of the city including people you might meet walking the streets, smells, and sounds. It really puts you into the mood of the city and gives the DM great imagery he can communicate to the players. All the places described are extremely interesting, and as usual in a Midnight book, each will give you enough ideas to start several adventures. My favorite place is the Hallow.

Chapter 2 leaves Baden’s Bluff and explores the surrounding area: from the south going Road of Ruin with its keeps, to the dreary Trollskarl forest, to the Plague Hills. All these great places (and more) are again described colorfully providing great scenery for players to run around in, as well as supplying adventure ideas galore.

Chapter 3 goes into the gut of Baden’s Bluff with the descriptions of the various power, factions, and organizations, from the Badens to the Legate, to the Bastard Baden and his court, and all that is between (or inside). The lines sometime blur between the resistance and the Shadow’s forces, providing a great places for DM’s and players that like intrigue, diplomacy, and cloak and dagger negotiations.

Chapter 4 describes all the important (and some not so important seeming) personalities of Badden’s Bluff including stat blocks, personalities and motivations, all complementing and expanding on what has already been discussed in the previous chapter.

Finally the Appendix includes a new PrC: the Visionary; four new feats, and a new Fell template for those that have drowned near the salty waters of Baden’s Bluff, the Brine Ungral.

This book has the same high standards as all other Midnight books: well written description, interesting locations, great NPC for your party to encounter, the art is just fitting, and ideas for new adventures are plenty.

If you plan to have your party spend some time in Baden’s Bluff, or if you want to insert some city adventures with plenty of intrigue and diplomacy (and backstabbing), this is the thing to get.